Lavar Johnson out of UFC on Fox 5 card

UFC on Fox 5 has suffered a late casualty with Lavar Johnson ruled out of his heavyweight contest against Brendan Schaub.

UFC president Dana White recently called for his fighters to "tone down" their training ahead of the Fox card, which will be shown in front of a large audience in the US on December 8.

However, Johnson has pulled up with a groin problem, which as a direct consequence means Schaub is also off the card.

"Brendan is very disappointed," manager Lex McMahon said. "He is very dedicated and will be back to training. We will see how long Lavar is out and will assess Brendan's options. I'm confident the UFC will get Brendan back in the Octagon soon."

Schaub later tweeted: "Frustrated would be an understatement. Back to the gym."

UFC on Fox 5 is headlined by a lightweight title clash between Benson Henderson v Nate Diaz and also features the return of BJ Penn against Rory MacDonald.